The College of Fellows comprises 1,500 medical and biological engineers in academia, industry, and government who have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice, or education. Fellows are considered “the life-blood of AIMBE and work towards realizing AIMBE’s vision to provide medical and biological engineering innovation for the benefit of humanity.”

Alex Mathews, at right, of the Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Engineering, was recently named to the annual Forbes “30 Under 30” list for his work on Fusiform with classmate Param Shah, at left.

The two were recognized in the Manufacturing and Industry category for their software-driven orthotics startup. Fusiform helps to create customizable and cost-effective orthotic devices that feature a revolutionary modular design.

Mathews said in an interview with the Hub that the project is “tackling a lot of inefficiencies in a process that hasn’t adapted since the 1970s.”

Rene Vidal, professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been named a 2016 Fellow of the International Association for Pattern Recognition for his contributions to computer vision and pattern recognition.

IAPR elects members every two years “to acknowledge their distinguished contributions to the field of pattern recognition and to IAPR activities.” It is a select group, not exceeding 0.25 percent of the total IAPR membership. A member’s service to IAPR, as well as scientific contributions, are taken into account during the selection process.

Vidal has secondary appointments in the departments of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. He is the director of the Vision Dynamics and Learning Lab, and a faculty member in the Center for Imaging Science and the Institute for Computational Medicine.

In recent months BME graduate student Randall Meyer has received multiple honors by notable organizations: a National Institute of Health NCI National Research Service Award Fellowship, an ARCS named scholar award, and a BMES graduate student award for research abstract. Randall is currently working under Dr. Jordan Green, seeking novel biomaterial-based particle therapeutics that mimic the function of natural cells to achieve a therapeutic effect. Learn more.►

The Johns Hopkins Medicine Discovery Fund has selected a research project submitted by Professors Xingde Li, Biomedical Engineering, and Dwight Bergles, Neuroscience, to receive the 2016 Synergy Award. The Synergy Award will provide $100,000 for further investigation of Circuit Plasticity in adult CNS using novel imaging tools. The award is for the period July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.

The Johns Hopkins Medicine Discovery Fund Synergy Awards are designed to spark new, synergistic interactions between investigators and proliferate scientific achievement in the highest quality and impact.

Jordan Green has been selected to receive the 2016 Allan P. Colburn Award for Excellence in Publications by a Young Member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Dr. Green is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Ophthalmology, Oncology, Neurosurgery, and Materials Science & Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. On being informed of the award Dr. Green commented, “It is such an honor to be in the same company as the other award recipients.”

The award encourages excellence in publications by a younger member of the Institute (<36 years of age) and is presented to one member each year. The Allan P. Colburn Award is one of the Institute’s most prestigious awards, honoring eminent chemical engineers for career accomplishments, service to society, and service to the institute. The award will be presented at the Honors Ceremony of the AIChE Annual Meeting in November. Awardees receive a plaque and cash prize of $5,000.

BME Assistant Professor Winston Timp was among thirty-four early career faculty members recently selected to receive Johns Hopkins 2016–17 Catalyst Awards. This honor is accompanied by a $75,000 grant, mentoring opportunities, and institutional recognition. Awardees represent some of the most creative thinkers from across the University.

Dr. Timp is using the Catalyst funding to advance his studies of DNA modifications and their effect on gene regulation. He is working on the adaptation of a new sequencing technology, nanopore sequencing, to characterize DNA modifications directly, allowing discrimination of different native modifications, DNA damage, or even exogenous labels added to DNA for in vitro studies.

Data from this work may allow for easier application of epigenetic studies to clinical work and a deeper understanding of the mechanism of epigenetic regulation. Timp is working with faculty at Johns Hopkins in the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Public Health, and School of Medicine to leverage this new technology, as well as faculty at the University of Toronto. View announcement on the HUB.►

Alexandra Badiceanu has been named the ICM (Institute for Computational Medicine) 2016-2017 Gakenheimer Fellow. Alexandra, a 2nd year graduate student, works under the guidance of Natalia Trayonova and is currently focusing on developing a novel integrative human HF myocyte model that will help explain arrhythmogenesis in HF patients.

The Gakenheimer Fellowship provides support to a student conducting heart research in developing and advancing diagnostic methods such as detection, classification and treatment of rhythm disorders.

As a recipient of this fellowship, Alexandra will receive this additional funding from Sept 2016 through June 2017 and will be invited to attend the Whiting School Fellowship Dinner in October, a celebration of the generosity of those who fund fellowships and the talented students who receive them.

Associate Professor Warren Grayson is among 21 Johns Hopkins researchers who have been awarded a grant from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission. The grants will support projects contributing to cures for a wide range of debilitating diseases and conditions, including heart failure, stroke, multiple sclerosis, vascular diseases, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders and cancer. The researchers were awarded the Investigator-Initiated Grants due to their promising preliminary data.

Research in the Grayson Lab focuses on the use of biomaterials and stem cells to regenerate musculoskeletal tissues following impairment caused by disease or trauma. The goal of the MSCRF-funded project is to engineer contractile skeletal muscle grafts to treat volumetric muscle loss. We will combine human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) with biomimetic scaffolds in custom-designed bioreactors and determine the combinations of biochemical and biophysical cues that maximize the myogenic differentiation of hiPSCs and their conversion into structurally organized, functional skeletal muscle grafts.